Does a Doll Deserve to Live a Happy Life? (Patreon)

Chapter 24: Parting Promises, Unknown Roads

A Week Later

It was time.

The past week we had gotten the living situation handled, making sure Irisviel and Aoi would have more than enough money to support their daughters. In the end the women decided to live back in Japan since it was out of the way of the Mage’s Association.

Thankfully, thanks to our Demiplane we didn’t have to take another plane back to Japan and simply used a portal to arrive instantly. Fuyuki was obviously off the table, of course, and we instead picked a home in a small city to the north.

During these days, I did my best to spend all of my free time with Sakura and, by extension, Rin—knowing that while it would be instant for me, they would not be seeing me for ten long years.

I’d even pulled off a miracle and managed to get Illya to stop running away from me all the time. While still wary, she was a child at the end of the day, and most of the time she got dragged into Rin or Sakura’s schemes that involved me. The little rascal even greeted me most times now and no longer stuck her tongue out like a kid.

Of course I’d also been keeping up with my training, but I had a plan for that, one of the rewards for winning the Grail War was a Companion ticket of a Tier 9 or less being from the Nasuverse, and I had just the perfect person in mind.

Another interesting development was Artoria and Lancelot no longer being awkward with each other and managing to at least talk on occasion, which was great progress. Lancelot still seemed to carry incredible guilt for his actions in the past, and Artoria, while not as fixated on undoing her past, still harbored many regrets.

At least she relaxed during meals and showed her true self then, eating everyone under the table with a giant smile on her face.

When I wasn’t training or with the girls, I spent the rest of my time with Tamamo: walks on the beach, relaxing under the sun. Tamamo had become irreplaceable in the short time since I met her, and I truly enjoyed every moment. Lately it almost seemed as if she had a permanent smile on her beautiful face, which made me happy.

“Just as promised, we’ll be leaving after breakfast.” I muttered softly, and a hush fell over the table after we finished eating in the home the girls would be staying in for the next ten years.

My comment made Sakura and even Rin look down sadly, bangs hiding their faces, while Aoi sitting between them, placed a comforting hand on their shoulders.

Illya, on the other hand, looked up from the pancakes she’d finished and gave me a smug smirk that only made her more adorable at that age. “Finally leaving, huh? Took you long enough, you dumb dragon~”

Irisviel, sitting next to her, giggled and patted her daughter’s head with a fond expression. “Don’t let her words fool you, Sieg-san~ My little Illya was just telling me last night how she’s really going to miss you.”

Illya immediately blushed and shot her mother a betrayed look before pointing at me with an embarrassed face. “D-Don’t get the wrong idea, dummy! I said that I’ll miss your cooking! Not you!”

“Fufufu~” Irisviel’s amused giggle cast doubt on Illya’s protest and made her huff.

The group chuckled as we stood and headed to the living room where the portal back to our Demiplane awaited. I turned to face the others.

A purple blur followed by a black one slammed into my knees and latched on tight.

Looking down, I frowned as I saw Sakura and Rin, Sakura trembling, clearly crying and felt my pants go a little wet moments later.

I bent down and pulled the sisters in for a hug. They returned it instantly, and I rubbed their backs soothingly. “It’s alright you two. This isn’t really a goodbye, just a see you later.”

I heard small sniffs before Sakura pulled back a little and looked into my eyes with puffy ones. “Y-You’ll come back for me, right, Sieg-san?” she asked.

Rin copied her sister with equally puffy eyes, though she glared at me cutely through her tears. “You better come back. If you make Sakura sad or cry I’ll never forgive you.”

I smiled and nodded, turning first to Sakura, who hadn’t even listened to Rin, her whole focus was on me. “Yes, Sakura, I will. I made a promise, and I may be many things, but a liar isn’t one of them.” I gently patted her head; she nodded in reluctant acceptance.

Then I turned to Rin and patted her head too; she blushed. “Be brave, okay Rin, and please look after your sister and Illya too. I promise that next time we meet, I’ll have a surprise for you, Sakura, and Illya.”

“O-Okay.” Rin nodded slowly, determination in her eyes.

Smiling, I held out my pinky to both of them. “Let’s seal the deal.”

“A p-pinky promise!? Really? How lame.” Rin muttered, clearly embarrassed but she hooked her pinky with mine anyway.

Sakura didn’t say a word; she hooked pinkies and looked up seriously. “Then just like I promised, next time I meet you I’ll be worthy of becoming your wife.” She stated firmly.

As if on cue, my foxy companion jumped onto my back, wrapping herself around my neck and glaring at the girls, especially Sakura.

“How many times do I have to tell you, brat? Sieg-kun is my future boyfriend and hubby, and I won’t let anyone get ahead of me.” Tamamo declared, lightning practically shooting from her eyes as it met Sakura’s own.

That seemed to break the heavy atmosphere as the adults let out some chuckles, with Artoria walking up to Irisviel and extending her hand for a handshake.

“While it was short, I enjoyed the time I spent with you despite the circumstances. Please take care of yourself, Irisviel. We’ll see each other again,” Artoria said with a gentle smile, one immediately mirrored by the white-haired woman.

Instead of taking her hand, Irisviel pulled Artoria into a small hug, catching her off guard. “I really enjoyed our time together as well, Saber. I know I don’t deserve it for lying to you from the start, but thank you for being my friend,” she whispered quietly before pulling back with a teary smile.

“Please watch out for Sieg. He has a good heart, but he’s still very naïve about the world, just like I am. He’ll need your help in the future to make sure he doesn’t lose that heart of his. And lastly, watch out for yourself. You’re not a king anymore and don’t have to worry about the responsibilities that come with it, you can just be Artoria going forward.”

Artoria blinked, clearly not expecting that, before her face grew serious. “Thank you, Irisviel. Rest assured, I’ll be looking out for Sieg moving forward, I want to see where his road leads him.” She hesitated, then added softly, “As for your last words… I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”

“Good.” Irisviel nodded before turning to me. The girls had calmed down by now, though Sakura and Tamamo were still trading sharp little glares.

With a gentle tug on my shirt, Irisviel drew me down to her level and surprised me with a kiss on the cheek. She retreated with a playful smile. “Thank you for everything, Sieg. Be sure to come back for us, okay? You’re stuck with us now~”

“W-Wha!! You too, Irisviel!?” Tamamo yelped, eyes wide before she scowled at Irisviel, who only stuck her tongue out and winked.

Shaking my head, I turned to the last two I hadn’t said goodbye to yet. First was Illya, who saw me coming and huffed, turning her head away.

Kneeling to her level, I smiled, making her shut her eyes stubbornly. “See you later, Illya. Make sure to look after your mother, okay?”

Illya pretended not to hear me for a few seconds before reluctantly nodding. “…Okay.”

“Hmhm, maybe next time we meet you won’t be so short anymore~” I teased, earning a furious blush and a glare.

“I’m not short, dummy! When you return, I’ll be even bigger than Mommy and you!” she declared, hands on her hips and finger pointed right at me.

“We’ll just have to see, won’t we?” I chuckled, standing up and ruffling her hair. She tried to slap my hand away, but the effort only made her look cuter. “Take care of yourself, Illya.”

Finally, I turned to Aoi, who had been watching everything with a warm smile.

“This is goodbye for now, huh?” she said gently, not looking sad at all.

“That’s right. Thank you for all your help these past weeks, Aoi-san. I really appreciate it,” I said sincerely.

Aoi shook her head. “There’s nothing to thank me for. I didn’t do much aside from cooking a few times. It’s me who should thank you for all you’ve done. Take care of yourself, Sieg-san. Sakura and Rin will be inconsolable if anything happens to you.” She stepped forward and gave me a hug, which I returned.

“Just take care of yourself and the girls, and we can call it even,” I murmured into her ear, earning a soft nod before we pulled back and shared one last smile. “We’ll meet again.”

“Right,” Aoi agreed, stepping back as I rejoined my group. Tamamo and Kiara, who had already said her own goodbyes, took their places at my sides.

Looking back one last time, I saw Rin and Sakura with puffy eyes beside their mother, and Illya and Irisviel both trying to hide their own sadness behind small smiles.

“Take care, everyone. We’ll see you in the future. When I do, make sure to tell me all about your lives until then,” I said.

Receiving nods and teary smiles in return, we finally stepped into the portal and vanished from the room.

We wouldn’t be returning for a full ten years and by then, I knew more than a few surprises would be waiting for me.

=====

As we stepped back into the demiplane, a slight melancholy settled over the room after saying goodbye to half our group.

The quiet was broken by the shrill beep of my Company Phone. I blinked, fished it from my pocket, and opened the message while everyone watched with curiosity.

“A call?” Kiara asked, leaning on my shoulder to peer at the screen.

“A message,” I muttered, reading it through. A frown formed a moment later.

“What is it?” Tamamo asked, snuggling closer to get a look.

“It looks like there’s been an update to the perks, specifically my Dragon Heritage. It’s been beefed up, though it lost a few useful things as well.” I swiped through the new perks and scowled as the changes refreshed on my HUD no longer seeing Treasure Hoard.

“They can just do that?” Kiara tilted her head.

“Apparently.” I bought the new perks and felt the new abilities settle into my body making me feel a bit weird before the feeling passed. “At least they refunded me, so it was free, and the changes happened instantly instead of taking twenty-four hours.”

“Do you feel any different?” Artoria asked, clearly curious having sensed my change.

I closed my hand and felt draconic energy hum through my palm. “Yeah. I feel like I can access my draconic powers more easily now. I’ll test them later.” I shook my head to clear it. “Anyway, we should get a move on and set out to our vacation world. I want to explore a bit before it gets dark.” I headed for the portal room, the others trailing behind while I plotted the path on my Company Phone.

“Where are we going, Sieg-kun~?” Tamamo asked, snuggling into my free hand with her tails wagging.

“It’s a surprise. All I’ll say is that it’s an alternate world set in the future.” I smiled; Artoria’s ahoge started wiggling in excitement.

“The future…” Artoria repeated, eyes sparkling. She looked genuinely adorable in that moment. “I wonder what food humanity has invented?”

‘Of course that’s what she meant’, I thought with a deadpan and silently prepared to lose a fortune in the near future.

We reached the portal room moments later. Tamamo leaned up and asked hesitantly, “And this is a place that won’t stare at my beautiful tails and ears with suspicion?”

“No, don’t worry,” I said, patting her head. She leaned into my arm and purred with pleasure. “With the current society, they won’t even give you a second glance.” I paused then and looked at her with a soft smile still not believing that such a beautiful girl had feeling for me.

“Well… they might look twice… but only because you’re beautiful.” I ended with a small blush on my cheeks.

Tamamo flushed and smiled, then planted a quick peck on my lips before tightening her grip on my arm. “Hihihi Oh Sieg-kun~ You always say the right thing to make this fox all tingly inside~”

“C-Could you two save that for when you’re alone?” Artoria blurted, cheeks pink.

“I concur,” Kiara said with a jealous nod.

Lancelot, trailing behind us, stayed silent as always.

“Fufufu, you two will have to get used to it~ Me and Sieg-kun are about to go on a looooot of dates soon~” Tamamo smirked, looking smug as she glanced at Kiara and Artoria.

“The portal is ready,” I announced, cutting off the brewing argument. A shimmering gateway opened.

“Well, what are we waiting for? This fox wants to see where our future dates will be!” Tamamo cheered, grabbing my hand and dragging me forward.

“Wait, Caster! It could be dangerous!” Artoria shouted, but she was already hurrying after us, followed by Kiara and Lancelot.

And with that, we crossed into an unknown world and the next little adventure began.

=====

The light of the portal bent and warped, swallowing us whole. For a moment, there was nothing but weightless drifting, the sensation of being unmoored from space and time.

Then, an impact.

We staggered onto solid ground, the echo of our footsteps swallowed by a strange silence. I blinked as my eyes adjusted, taking in the sight before us. Towering buildings loomed in the distance, sleek and gleaming with strange designs, their windows reflecting an endless sprawl of light. The air thrummed faintly, charged with something I couldn’t quite place. A type of energy I hadn’t felt before.

The others fanned out beside me, heads turning in every direction. Artoria’s hand drifted toward her invisible blade, ever wary. Kiara’s crimson eyes gleamed with curiosity. Tamamo clung to my arm but her tails twitched, alert.

“This place…” she murmured softly, her voice curious as her head swiveled. “It’s Japan, right? It doesn’t look that much different from where we just left. Are you sure we are in the future?”

“Yep, positive.” I nodded, my own head focused on the passing civilians immediately noticing that some of them had some extra features.

In the distance, a sudden boom rattled the air, followed by the faint sound of sirens. I narrowed my eyes at the skyline, where a plume of smoke curled upward.

“Is that…?” Artoria began, but her words trailed off as something moved across the rooftops, fast, impossibly fast for a regular human. A figure leaping from building to building as if gravity itself bowed before them.

We all stood frozen for a moment, the strange energy of this world pressing down on us. My draconic senses thrummed in anticipation and unknowingly a grin grew on my face feeling adrenaline pump into my veins.

I exhaled slowly. “Welcome… to Musutafu, Japan in the late 21st century.”